Back to Before
by Mini Wolfsbane
Summary: Molly wakes up in a world where there is no School for the Gifted and no X-Men. One by one, she has to find her friends and convince them that they make an amazing team, all while playing out a dangerous scenario set up by one of their most ruthless enemies. 58th story in a series! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

AN: I'm sooo excited for this one! I've had this sitting around for, like, three to five years. I was so anxious to get it out!  
I would've liked even more detail, but I did what I could in fleshing it out. You can only push your fic so far until your imagination runs dry. This is somewhat inspired by the Animorphs book 'Back to Before', (Which was inspired by 'It's a Wonderful Life'), where a slightly similar plot happens, but not really. Credit goes to Applegate for the title then! (Even if it doesn't completely fit, I suppose.) The only similarities being that "This is what would happen if you weren't a superhero." plot is going on, but with a couple twists on the trope. One being that Molly has to gather everyone, another being that we don't get to see much of the kids "other" lives, unfortunately, but, hey, they'd be pretty boring if they weren't X-Men, so whatevs, right? Please enjoy and don't be afraid to review! Critique is gladly welcome!

* * *

Molly was sound asleep. It was nighttime, long past midnight and she was out like a light. The door to her room noisily burst open and Splicer agents piled inside like ants out of an ant hill. The Splicers had opened her door by force, kicking it in like a trained swat team. They were dressed the same, as always. Black helmets, black bullet proof vests, long Kevlar sleeves, pants, and big, dark boots. Genovilia Fawn was out in front, leading her men like any great Captain, her shoulder-length blonde hair streaming out of her helmet like spun gold. Her bright red lipstick sick with a satisfied grin. She had Molly by the metaphorical throat, in her own bedroom. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Trapped like a rat in a trap.

Molly went from zero to sixty, wide awake. Molly bolted awake from her sleep, was upright in no time, quickly changing to her trusty tiger form. Snarling and hissing, she got ready to attack, her body like a coiled spring, getting ready to jump onto the attacker nearest to her that wasn't Fawn.

Crreeeeeeeak...  
WHHHUUUUMPHHH!

Nevermind that the entire bed just broke under her sheer weight.

"The subject is highly dangerous," Genovilia said behind a black helmet, "Tranquilize."

SWFFT!  
SWFFT!

Molly felt two large darts hit her neck, then the familiar feeling of very heavy grogginess hitting her. Her eyes started to close. She shook her head, moaning, trying to fight it, widening her eyes. As unconsciousness continued to take her over and things became blurry, she was vaguely aware of Remy rushing into the room, knocking out the team of men left and right with high kicks, cards in hand ablaze with kinetic energy, ready to be thrown.

"Disable!" Fawn ordered again, but angrily. Remy was faster than these lunkheads, to Molly's awe.

SWFFT!

Molly moaned out for Remy again as she watched a dart go into his neck, craning herself forward in concern, even though she now could barely move. She was going under fast! "Molly...We'll save you...promise," Remy said as he sank to the floor on his knees, his eyes pleading at her as they closed, his hand reaching out and then going limp with the rest of his body as he fell out flat onto the floor.

Molly threw her hulking body forward, anxious to do absolutely anything to save Remy, but it wasn't of any use. The tranquilizer finally kicked in fully and she felt herself falling onto the bed and quickly asleep.

* * *

Molly gasped, shocked upright once again, wide awake. And human. Oh, was that good or bad?

"Remy?!" She called out, looking around.

She was in a bed. No, not a bed. _Her_ bed. Her old bed, in her old room, in her old apartment in Nevada. She looked around. Everything was as she'd left it. The pictures on the walls, the armoire across from the foot of the bed. Some clothes strewn about on the floor with bits of trash lazily not in the trash can. Toys on wooden shelves and some dirty glasses and plates spotting the room. Everything was familiar, but Molly knew this wasn't where she belonged.

Molly got out of the bed and tentatively walked over to the door. She gently pat it down, checking for any traps. It was safe. She slowly opened the door and peeked out, greeted with silence and an empty living space. No one else was around, just her. Molly stepped out into the short hallway. There wasn't a sound, nothing.

"What's going on?" Molly wondered.

She walked out to the living room and to the front door. Molly opened it and peeked out. The street was the same as she remembered. The neighbors were out walking their dogs and tending to their lawns, with kids playing in the driveways. Other people were leaving their own apartments for work and errands. Cars buzzed past with people inside them ready to get to work and school. Molly closed the door and went to go get dressed, throwing on the clothes faster than she ever had before. Something was going down, and she was determined to find out just what.

Molly grabbed her phone from the charger on the table in the kitchen and punched in the number for the Institute.

"...The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again," An automated voice said on the other end.

"What?" Molly wondered, looking at the phone. She tried again and again, greeted with the same message.

Molly put the phone down and started pacing.  
"Okay, I'm in Nevada. Everything feels real, but it can't be real. So...now what?"

She thought a moment. The answer was glaringly obvious-go to New York, find the Institute and figure this mess out.  
Molly only hoped she had enough money for transportation.

Molly drove to the airport after packing a few clothes, practically slamming down her credit card at the ticket desk.  
"I need a one way ticket to New York, please," Molly said.

The woman behind the desk with the short red-hair ran her card through.  
"Sorry Miss, but you don't have enough to cover a ticket. I'm reading only 300 dollars on your card."

Molly was taken aback. Whoever was controlling this illusion was trying to screw her over.  
"Figures," Molly stayed calm, "Thanks anyway."

Molly went into the bathroom. Checking to make sure all the stalls were empty, she ducked into one. She really should have made sure her powers still worked before even leaving the house, but panic had taken over. Molly concentrated on a blue jay. She felt feathers and experienced the sensation of becoming smaller, getting a beak and thin bird legs. Relieved, she changed back. Now the plan, though dangerous and not her usual M.O, was to sneak aboard whatever plane was headed for New York. Molly felt a sharp sting of guilt for what she was about to do, but on the other hand, this was a made up place. An illusion. None of it was real, so the "rules" no longer applied.

Molly came out of the bathroom, human again, and looked at the schedule for planes flying out. Flight 623 to New York flying out in two hours. Plenty of time to sneak on board. Molly went outside and found a nook to morph discreetly. Molly considered what to change into. Some bird small enough not to be noticed and to have good enough eyesight. Molly also made a mental note to stay far, far away from the jet engines. She finally decided on changing again into a common blue jay. Flying overhead, Molly spotted the plane right away. Molly landed on the ground, looking for a way inside. An open slot or something. After some minutes of watching, she found it. They were connecting the plane to the airport entrance for people to board. Molly just had to fly in before they connected, and anyone noticed. Falling through the sky like a stone, Molly swooped into the connecter, hoping that once she was inside, no one would notice the blue jay flying around the inside of the plane. Eventually, Molly made it to the inside. No one was around. It made sense, she realized, if the plane was being moved around, no one would be inside. Molly flew to the back, past rows and rows of chairs, past the attendant' station and the bathrooms, to the very back of the plane where the luggage was stored. She changed back to human and opened the door, quickly shutting it. Thinking fast, she made her way to a mouse, taking refuge behind a duffel bag. Just in case anyone looked for the bird that had flown in.

A few minutes later, Molly heard people walking around.

"You're sure you saw a bird fly into the connector?" A male voice asked.

"I thought I did," Another male voice.

"You're getting old Jerry. There's nothing in here, lets go."

"What about in the back with the luggage?"

"Dude, it's got a door? You expect a bird to open a door and hide in there?"

"Right. What did you bring for lunch?..."

The voices faded into the distance.

Molly would've breathed a sigh of relief, if she'd been human. She changed back, hoping that all the luggage was stored and no one would come in. Molly was annoyed that she'd had to leave all her stuff behind, but in the end it wouldn't matter. Remy promised to rescue her, and she knew that nothing would keep him from that. Hopefully they hadn't kidnapped him too, or the team had prevented his capture if they had tried. Molly dreaded to think what her body could be going through back in the real world, but tried not to dwell on it too much. Instead, she wondered how the Splicers could be so technologically advanced as to create this alternate reality that looked and felt so real. They'd done amazing stuff before, so this obviously wasn't out of the realm of possibility, but they'd made science-fiction science fact at the drop of a hat. Unless of course they were using a powerful telepath, but Molly doubted it. The team always seemed human enough, calling them subjects. Not mutants, not people, but subjects. Like lab rats. Molly shuddered with great malice and a chill up her spine, clearly unsettled.

"Okay," She talked quietly to break the silence, "I get to New York, I find the school. If it's not in operation, I, ummm..." Molly wondered. She snapped her fingers, "Find Remy! Of course!"

It seemed the only viable option. She wasn't completely sure where anyone else had lived before coming to the institute and Remy would be easy to find. She had to keep her mind open to the possibility that he may not know her or trust her, so she couldn't get all gooey on sight. Now was the time to be level-headed and calm.

Of course, Molly became a bit too calm as she found herself falling asleep once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

* * *

Molly woke up again to a jolt. At first, she wondered where she was, then remembered. What had woken her? Turbulence?

Molly changed into a dog and listened. She could hear a few dozen heartbeats and people breathing. The in-flight movie playing. So the plane was still flying to its destination. Molly heard her stomach growl. Oh, of course she'd forgotten to eat in the mad rush. Molly started searching the bags for something to eat, ending up only finding beef jerky, prunes and prune juice. "Appetizing," Molly rolled her eyes. She ate the prunes and drank the prune juice, but her body still cried out for more.

"It's not really real meat," Molly rationalized, "All this is a product of someone elses mind. It's all fake."  
She started eating the jerky and resisted the urge to gag. Not that it wasn't good, but it had been much too long since she'd eaten flesh, it was no longer appetizing. Molly sat around, bored and wondering how long the flight would last. Things were starting to get cold, so she shifted into the form of a warm, cozy little arctic fox. Comfortable, Molly finished off the last of the jerky and waited, entertaining herself with ideas of how Remy would eventually rescue her. She imagined how angry he was going to be, since he never took anyone hurting Molly or kidnapping her lightly. This event would probably mean things were doubly so, since they'd taken her and were probably experimenting on her as she slept. A sickening thought!

Letting her mind wander helped to pass the time, because eventually she felt the plane start landing and the Captain saying something over the loudspeaker about reaching their destination. Molly relaxed, changing back to human, then back to mouse and crawling inside the pocket of a child's pink suitcase. Molly blinked in the sunlight as the bags started being unloaded and taken to the turnstile by cart. Before they were sent into the turnstile belt, Molly jumped off, hitching a ride on the back of some guys pants as he went inside for a coffee break. Molly hopped onto linoleum, skittering along, trying to avoid huge feet as she made it to a nearby open storage closet. She changed back, waiting until it was quiet and stepping back out.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" A heavy white man in a mustache in a captain's uniform came through the door, pointing at Molly.

"Really? Someone should post a sign," Molly quipped.

She made a run for it, morphing into a German Shepherd as she went. Becoming a dog seemed like the easiest thing. Fast, good eyes, good...everything really. Molly raced through crowds of people, running out the door and onto the sidewalk. Molly kept running, then she realized that she didn't know where she was headed. She galloped to the nearest parking garage, slowing down to a trot and watching out for cars. Molly sat down, feeling winded. She knew she needed to eat some real food in order to have some energy again. Molly changed back, exiting the garage. Back inside the airport there were tons of options, but one person had already seen her face. Molly started weighing the options again. She wasn't sure if "stealing" a car was the best idea, but it would take care of transportation issues.

Except she didn't have the knowledge to get a car working without keys. Besides that, she just couldn't bring herself to do it, despite being in Imaginary Land. Molly changed back into a German Shepherd, walking out of the airport and down the road, keeping to the grass and away from the cars. Eventually, she reached a gas station. Gas stations had food. So much food. Molly's dog mouth drooled a river. However, she realized, people would be much less likely to mess with a gorilla then a big dog. Run in, grab some sandwiches, run out and find somewhere to hide. The plan sounded perfect, but Molly had to be ready to run in case things got ugly.

As soon as Molly entered the gas station, people began running to the nearest fire escape or past her out the front door, fleeing out of the way of the "dangerous" gorilla. Molly grabbed a bag from behind the counter and started filling it with foodstuffs and drinks as fast as she could. Time was a factor. Molly quickly grabbed a knapsack from a sales wrack in case she had to morph again, then, lastly, because she did strangely feel bad, grabbed a pen and a receipt. The cashier and the police would surely be puzzled at a note from a gorilla saying she had no money and owed them.

Sometime later, Molly was sitting in a nearby park, eating her fill of food. Feeling refreshed again, she figured she'd find out where she was in New York and either fly or run to the school from there. Hopefully Bayville wasn't too far away.

"'Scuse me?" She stopped a nearby man in a business suit and glasses with a briefcase, "I'm a little lost. I Had a bad night and I don't even know what part of New York I'm in."

"On fifth and Breckenridge," The man explained, "If you want to catch the bus, there should be one along in a few minutes."

"Thanks, but I'll find my way. Appreciate it," Molly walked away.

New York City, fifth and Breckenridge. A map would be extremely handy at this time.  
Molly mulled it over when she realized, like an idiot, she was in New York. New York had a famous library, and surely they would have computers. It just so happened that the park was right across from said library, so everything was starting to look up.

Molly made her way to the library, slipping into one of the computer chairs and starting to type. It made more sense to see if the school even existed then to waste the time going and finding nothing. Molly typed in 'Xavier Institute' and the computer came back with everything except what she wanted. So there was no institute in this reality. It made some sense.

Now to figure out how to get to New Orleans before nightfall. Molly put a hand to her face, smoothing out her hair, trying to figure it out. She much preferred traveling as a human, but with no money, that seemed next to impossible. Molly didn't have time to look up bus schedules and things, so she decided it would be easier to pick an animal and just go.

Molly typed in 'bird with the longest endurance', and the search came back with the Bar-tailed godwit, a small bird able to make non-stop flights between Alaska and New Zealand.

She printed out a map, putting it in her tiny travel satchel, (it would hang around her neck), and leaving. Finding a secluded spot behind some bushes, Molly morphed, taking flight.

* * *

The flight had gone well for the past couple of hours, but it was achingly lonely. Molly had become so accustomed to doing things with the team or having Remy near, that the quiet, the lack of conversation, was starting to put a hole in her heart.

'Remy would probably make a joke if he were here,' Molly thought, being unable to speak, 'Like 'Bar-tailed godwit? Is it drunk and sarcastic or something?''

Molly felt so lonely, but soon she would be united with Remy in some sort of fashion, even if things were different between them. Molly knew she had to brace herself. She hadn't known Remy...before. Before he was an X-Man and a good guy, back when he was a thief and, well, a mercenary for hire, basically. Willing to do anyone's bidding for the right price. Back when he had, like, a million different girlfriends. Molly's animal body managed to gulp. What was Remy going to think of her, anyway? Molly knew his old type and she wasn't like them at all. Molly suddenly realized that it was going to take a _lot_ on her part to get his attention, never mind his help. Oh, sure, if she was five-foot-ten, slim and blonde, getting his attention would be a cake walk. Except she wasn't. Molly figured, with so much time to think, that Remy was going to take one look at her and say something along the lines of, "You're a nice kid, but I don't help out anyone for free."

Molly suddenly felt like giving up at this new revelation, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't want to be alone in this strange world where there were no X-Men and Remy wasn't in her life. Maybe if she could unite them, the game would be played out and she would wake up. (After all, it had to be some kind of mind game. Things were too precise and realistic to be anything otherwise.) Molly had figured that her captors were testing her in a way. Seeing her reactions and such, how her brain worked. It was the only logical explanation.

After some time, Molly found herself flying over New Orleans. She couldn't recall exactly where Remy's old house was, but it didn't matter when you could have a dogs nose at a moment's notice. Remy's scent was distinct. It was also everywhere, she realized upon turning into a dog. The good thing about a dogs nose was that it could pick up trails easily. Molly followed the trail to the house. She went around the back, looking for Remy's room. Eventually, she found it. Bottom floor in the back, with a clean window. Unfortunately-or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it-Remy had come through the doorway that moment, fresh out of the shower in only a towel. If Molly had been human, she would've blushed purple. Instead, she became mesmerized, watching him dry his hair with the small towel hanging around his neck. Able to see all the droplets of water on his body. Every rippling muscle, every vein, every abdominal muscle. Molly noticed he had a short beard and go-tee, what a weird look. She watched him dig for clothes from his dresser, tossing them carelessly on the bed. Then watched Remy dry off his shoulders and back and toss the small hand towel onto the floor. Molly snapped out of it, deciding it best to look away now before things became too personal. Lust dug at her to keep watching, but Molly resisted the temptation. These people knew how to push her buttons, in a big way!

After a few minutes, Molly looked in the window again. Remy was just wearing jeans. No shirt, socks or shoes, just jeans. His chest was still a little wet. (Yes, this had to be deliberate.) Molly knew she had to lure him out, so she barked as loud as she could.

Remy went to the window and opened it, sticking his head out.  
"If you're looking for scraps, the kitchen is closed. Go home, chien," Remy waved Molly away.

Molly cried, trying to keep up the dog act. She knew if she changed back to human suddenly, it would be inviting trouble. The guild would probably be on her with knives and stuff in moments if such a thing occurred.

Remy sighed, looking up, then back to Molly. "I'll see what I can find. Stay here."

Molly wanted to giggle suddenly. The go-tee and beard combo he'd had was an awful look for him, in her opinion. She waited and Remy came around the back with a plate of various meats. Now that he was outside, she could trap him. Molly jumped, putting all her weight into it to know Remy onto his back in the dead, dry grass. "Hey!-" Remy started to protest, when Molly changed back, putting a hand over his mouth.

"Come with me or else," Molly said, shifting halfway to tiger form, moving her hand away.

"Don't think so," Remy grinned. He looped one of his legs around hers, getting Molly onto her back and firmly held her wrists against the cold dirt, "Now you mind telling me what's going on? Or do I have to get rough? I don't want to hurt a such little femme like you, but I will if I have to."

Apparently, Molly had not thought this plan all the way through. She hadn't anticipated this.

"I know you in a completely different life. You're a mutant, I'm a mutant. I need your help because...because all of this is wrong," Molly said, not sure how to explain it.

"Wrong how?-Answer me!" Remy demanded when Molly was trying to get her head together. She was exhausted and things seemed to be unraveling fast.

"Y-You don't belong here. You're supposed to be at this mutant school. With me. We have friends there. A whole life. I, um, I'm your girlfriend too. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. You were my best chance. The one I thought of first," Molly said.

Remy got up, hauling Molly to her feet, quick and a bit roughly. He kept holding her wrists, probably to be safe.  
"It does sound crazy," Remy agreed, "Though in order to keep an eye on you, you'd better come with me."

He led her back inside the house. Molly smelled smokey, hearty home-made cooking all the way from the front door. Remy took her into the kitchen and led her to sit at the table, wooden with only four chairs. The kitchen was gorgeous and colorful. The cabinets were a rich, rust red color. Unsurprisingly, the floors were burnt orange tiles. There was a window, with a seat, across from the table with some ferns and other plants on it. A wrack hung from the ceiling with yellow, red and silver pots and pans. The fridge was at the end, then the stove, then just three cabinets. Across from that was the far wall painted orange. It had a bulliton board on it and a couple pictures, nothing fancy. It wasn't a large kitchen, but it was full of life!

There was a woman cooking at the stove. Average height, African-American, pretty for her age of about late forties, Molly guessed.  
"Remy, you go put on a shirt and be nice enough t' introduce me to your new lady friend," The woman chided Remy in a thick Jamaican accent.

Molly's mind had a flash. Oh yes, this was that kind-of aunt Remy mentioned sometimes. Tante Mattie, he called her.  
The only woman that seemed to be able to reign in Remy, from what he'd told Molly.

"It's too hot for shirts and she's not my friend," Remy said, "Just some girl. A dangerous one. I'm Trying to keep an eye on her. She's...different. Like me."

"Hmph," Mattie put her hands on her hips, "Th' girl doesn't look like she could hurt a fly. Dangerous, I'm sure! Now what's your name, chil'?"

"Molly," Molly smiled, getting to like Mattie, "I, uh, traveled a long way to get her and I need Remy's help very badly."

This explanation earned a death glare from Mattie to Remy. "This poor girl needs your help and you go and call her dangerous? What's wrong with ya, boy?" Mattie wielded the dry cooking spoon she held in her right hand, thumping Remy on the head with it, "Stupid boy!"

"She knocked me down, turned into a person, then a tiger thing and threatened me to go with her!" Remy protested, pointing at Molly defensively, "She's not some poor girl! She-"

"No excuses!" Mattie argued, "Go be a gentleman and put on a shirt. Wash up for lunch after. Show Molly where the bathroom is and she can wash up too."

Molly got up and followed Remy to his room where he pulled on a gray, sleeveless top, grumbling to himself all the while.  
He then took her to the bathroom.

"Ladies first," Remy said sarcastically, waving her in. Molly quickly washed up, then letting Remy wash as well.

They went back to the kitchen and had lunch. Molly was beyond famished and very weak after such an exhausting day of traveling.  
"You look tired, Molly," Mattie said, "You should go sleep. You can rest in Remy's room."

"But Tante-" Remy protested.

Mattie just gave him another look and Remy shut-up. Molly couldn't help but enjoy this new side of Remy's life, highly amused.

"I am tired, but I really need to talk to Remy. It's really important," Molly said, "Uh, thanks though."

"Come on," Remy said, "We'll go in my room."

They went back to Remy's room and sat on the bed.

"Alright, start talking," Remy said.

Molly wasn't sure what to say. She'd explained things as well as she could, but there really hadn't been much detail.  
"Uh, well, we're supposed to be part of this place called The Xavier Institute. It should be in New York, but it's not. It's like it never existed," Molly said, "We're part of this team of mutants called the X-Men. We're all super heroes, saving the world and stuff. I know it sounds...kind of ridiculous...but it's all true. You know what you can do and you've seen what I can do too. And, well, I know that you can feel my emotions, so you can tell that I'm not lying to you. It's all true."

Remy stared at Molly, straight-faced. (Molly still couldn't get over that beard thing.)  
"I guess, but it doesn't make much sense. Why aren't things the way they're supposed to be? What happened?"  
"I don't know," Molly admitted, "All I know is that you and I are the only ones to set things right again. We have to find our friends and gather them. Make ourselves a team again."

'And maybe then I can wake up,' Molly said silently.

"It's going to take time. I know if I don't do something to help you, I'll never hear the end of it," Remy rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "For now though, you'll stay here. Rest up. You're tired, that I can see. How far did you travel?"

"From Nevada to New York by plane, then from New York to here as a bird," Molly explained, "It took all day, but I managed it."

The day was going into late afternoon fast and they only had a few hours of daylight left.

"Wow," Remy was visibly impressed, "You have to be exhausted then."

"Yeah," Molly agreed, "I think the only thing that kept me going was finding you again."

Silence. Remy looked like he felt a bit awkward.

"Um, well, I guess you'll stay here then. We don't have any extra rooms and, honestly, I don't trust the guys around here. I'll stay in here with you. Sleep on the floor. I'm supposed to be your boyfriend, so you don't mind, right?" Remy finally smiled.

"No. That's okay," Molly said, "I mean, if Mattie doesn't mind that is."

"She trusts me," Remy said, running a hand through his hair, "More or less I suppose."

Molly stared at Remys bare arms with intense interest. She missed being held and kissed by Remy, suddenly.  
Now she couldn't be, even after it had taken a whole day to find him.

"You okay Petite?" Remy asked.

"Uh, I'll be f-fine," Molly said, forcing a smile, "Sorry. I guess I shouldn't stare."

"It's not the staring I'm worried about," Remy said, "It's all that longing and sadness, directed at me. I'm sure I'm not like the guy you remember, but whatever happens, you did find me. I know it had to be for a reason, even if I don't completely understand it all."

Molly nodded. She found her eyes drooping, not even feeling it as Remy caught her as she fell forward into exhaustion.

* * *

AN: That's right, in my series, Remy shaved off that stupid go-tee thing! It was dumb (to me) and he would've looked better without it! That said, I can't stop you from letting him "keep" it in your own imaginations, but I much prefer him without it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

* * *

Molly woke up the next morning in Remy's bed. There was a mess of blankets and a pillow on the floor, indicating Remy had slept there, as promised. Molly adjusted her clothing and made her way into the kitchen. She could smell breakfast before going in, and when she made it into the kitchen, pancakes, eggs and some other remnants of food were waiting on the table, presumably for her to eat. Remy sat at the table, drinking some juice, out of his shirt again. He looked so beautiful, Molly was taken aback at all his splendor. How he looked amazing without even trying. That hair, those eyes, that great body. All highlighted as the sun hit him through the window, looking like a shining Adonis. Molly just stood there, staring at him for ages.

"You going to stand there all day chil' or are you going to eat? Sit, sit!" Mattie called Molly into the kitchen, giving her a knowing look. It was probably obvious to anyone of how Molly felt about Remy. Molly didn't keep her feelings subtle. Molly sat down and started eating.

"So," Remy said, "Now that you're up, I guess we'd better start planning. After you finish eating, that is."

Molly just nodded, her mouth full. She was all too grateful to be eating a full meal again. A full _free_ meal that she didn't need to take by force. Not to mention she had missed dinner the night prior, and that just wouldn't do.

Mattie soon left the kitchen, probably to give the two some privacy.

"You can really put it a way for such little thing, can't you?" Remy remarked.

"I'm really not a big eater," Molly said, breaking from eating, "I'm just really hungry.  
I didn't eat a lot yesterday and I missed dinner last night.-It's funny, but you normally make short jokes too. Or at least remarks."

"I don't sound like a very good boyfriend to you," Remy raised an eyebrow.

"You are. It's all gentle, in good fun. You're always really, like, sweet about it,"  
Molly said, "You think I'm cute and find me very attractive."

"I see," Remy said, "I have to say you're not my usual type, so it does surprise me."

"Yeah I know. I mean, I wasn't at first, but you did get to like me eventually," Molly said, self-satisfied and feeling vain suddenly.

"I don't see how, but alright," Remy said, "You're just so...so..."

"Short and fat, I know," Molly rolled her eyes.

"It's not that so much," Remy said, "You've got an innocent face and there's something about you. Like you could be my younger sister, not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, you felt like that before. It took us a long time to get together," Molly said, "I'm sure you want to hear all about it, but we really do have to start working on this. So, uh, you might want to, um, put on a shirt."

"I wouldn't want to be a distraction for you," Remy smirked, getting up and going to his room. He came back a few minutes later.

"We're going to need a computer to look everyone up, then we're going to need transportation to get to them," Molly said.

"Not a problem," Remy said, "I'll show you where the computer is and We can take my car."

Remy led Molly into what could only be the office room. An expensive looking rug lined the floor and behind the desk where the computer was, there was a massive wooden bookcase. One the left side of the bookcase there was a window overlooking the backyard. The left wall had a painting on it. The right wall had a black metal trunk. Plainly, the far wall had nothing on it, just brown wood paneling. Molly felt like she had just stepped into a museum. How many heists had this taken? How many nights? What did Remy have to do to...to steal all this stuff?

Molly mentally shook herself out of it, once again having to remind her head that this place was not real.  
Remy sat in the comfy green leather chair behind the huge, polished wooden desk, turning it on and going to a search engine.  
"Who do we want to look up first?" Remy asked Molly.

"Uh, Scott Summers," Molly said, "I think he was from, like, Missouri or something?"

"You think?" Remy said as he pressed enter, "I thought this team was all your friends."

"They were. I mean, they are," Molly said, "But we didn't talk much about our lives before coming to The Institute. Just mentions in passing."

Remy scrolled through the list of results as Molly looked through it, trying to find something familiar. Molly noted the way Remy kept glancing back and forth at her...chest...as she leaned beside him to see the computer screen.

'Some things never change,' Molly thought.

"Oh, try that one," Molly pointed to a link with a definite picture of Scott's face on it. It was a short news story describing a young man rescuing a family from a house fire. "Wow. You can take the hero out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of the hero," Molly was surprised that Scott was still being a leader and a great guy, despite no formal training.

"Remy," An older man entered the room, "You seen my-"  
He stopped, staring at Molly and Remy.

"Just had to use the computer a minute," Remy said, "Molly, this is my...my father Jean-Luc. Pere, this is Molly. Our house guest. I'm sure Mattie mentioned her." Molly resisted the urge to gasp. Or let her mouth hang open. She was actually standing in front of Remy's-admittedly awful-father. The person Remy despised and never wanted to see again. Molly didn't have any warm feelings towards the man either after hearing what he'd put Remy through for much of his life.

"Said something in passing, yes," Jean-Luc nodded, walking over to the desk, taking Mollys hand to kiss it charmingly, "Enchante', beautiful girl."

Molly pulled her hand back before Jean-Luc could kiss it. That was really NOT a memory she needed in her brain. Well, Remy _clearly_ had to learn his flirtatious mannerisms from somewhere. Who better than dear ol' daddy LeBeau? Ugh! Yuck!

"Uh, n-nice meeting you t-too," Molly felt petrified. She'd gone the past two days without losing her nerves and _this_ was what was finally making her scared? Meeting Remy's dad? Why should that scare her? Molly forced herself to calm down.

"We'd better be going," Remy stood up, "We have a lot of stuff to do."

"Alright, but don't you let me catch you foolin' around in th' kitchen like last time!" Jean-Luc warned.

Remy's body language tensed up, freezing a moment mid-step. He stopped walking. Molly felt herself blush again.  
"She's not that kind of girl, _Pere_," Remy called out over his shoulder, "I hardly know her."

"Dat's what you said about the last one," Jean-Luc called back. Remy kept walking.

Molly felt both amused and jealous at the same time as she followed Remy out the front door.  
"Where are we going?" Molly asked.

"It probably wasn't a good idea to use the computer here. Too many snoops," Remy explained, "So we're going down to the library. Then once we have all the information we need, we'll come back here and pack."

"Okay, but isn't everyone, you know, going to question you leaving for days with some strange girl?" Molly answered.

Remy laughed, "I do what I want. That's why I like living here. Lots of freedom."

* * *

Within the hour, they had found information on Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kitty. Scott was the second furthest besides Kurt, who they couldn't find any information on since he was well concealed in Germany.

"So...Germany. No passports and not enough money to buy a plane ticket," Remy said as they sat at the computer of a large New Orleans library.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll, uh, save Kurt for later then," Molly said,  
"We'll start with Rogue, she's closest."

"Rogue," Remy stared at her picture on the screen. She'd been in the news for winning some poetry contest, "Weird name. Pretty girl though."

Molly almost choked. "Whaaat?! You think Rogue is-? You guys always get on each others nerves!"

"I find that hard to believe," Remy smiled, "I mean, no offense, but why am I going out with you in this other life and not her? She seems more my type."

Molly rolled her eyes and her whole head, sighing. "You just didn't. You guys, like, never felt like that about each other." Molly couldn't help but feel annoyed. Hurt even. Remys candidness wasn't something she had anticipated.

"Well anyway, we'd better get going," Remy said, "It's going to take a few hours to get to Mississippi. You have a plan for when we get there, Cherie?"

Molly's heart thumped faster at Remy calling her 'Cherie'.  
"Uh, I hadn't really thought of anything yet. I just assumed that we would find Rogue and try to convince her to come back with us."

"Hey, _I'm_ barely convinced of all this," Remy said, putting his hands emphatically on his chest as he spoke, "Trying to convince someone else is going to take a lot of smooth talking. Fortunately for you, I could charm anyone."

"Certainly, but I hope I'm not going to have to, like, keep you from hitting on anyone with an extra X chromosome," Molly said. She couldn't believe she had to say that to Remy. It annoyed her down to her DNA. This version of Remy wasn't going to fall all over himself for Molly, that was now clear.

"I know I'm your boyfriend in an alternate reality, but here you have to let me be myself. It's only fair," Remy condescendingly reached out and ruffled her hair as he got up and headed back for the car.

"I can't get rid of him, I need him. Even if he is being a huge jerk," Molly said quietly to herself before following Remy outside.

* * *

They went home and Remy packed some clothes. Molly knew she would have to make do with wearing the same clothes for at least a couple of days, but didn't mind. They loaded up the car and left for Mississippi.

"We should be there by tonight," Remy said as he drove, "We'll stay in a hotel and look for Rogue first thing in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," Molly said.

Much later they found themselves at the first hotel they came across. It was maybe three stars, not quite four, with a fountain out front, painted white, and had at least a few hundred rooms by the looks of all the windows. Horizon Plaza, the black and gold sign out front read. Inside, the lobby was ostentatious and glamorous, with a large silver chandelier overhead, a green marble check in desk, brown chairs, a coffee stand with an actual espresso machine, and several potted plants dotting the area. Across the way, there was a small restaurant, closed up for the night with brown carpet and an extensive amount of tables. Molly was impressed, but Remy did have money to spare in this reality. They weren't going to stay at any one star, rat infested motel as long as she stuck with him. (It was a relief, but Molly had really become accustomed to receiving the finer things in life. Not a surprise after being spoiled rotten by Remy all this time.)

"I'm sorry, but there's only one room available," The small, blonde cashier in the dark blue vest bit her lower lip as she looked at her computer screen.

"It's alright Cherie," Remy turned on the charm as he leaned over the desk with a big smile, "We'll take it. I'll just sleep on the floor. That is, if I sleep at all with your pretty face running through my mind."

The cashier giggled as Molly clenched her teeth, her fists so tight that she thought her hands might start bleeding from her nails digging into her palms so hard. "Enjoy your stay," The smitten cashier waved at them enthusiastically as they left the lobby.

Inside the lavish one-bed, gold colored room, Remy put his duffel bag and backpack on the floor beside the shiny oak table. "You're feeling so jealous to me," Remy smirked at Molly, "Does my flirting with women really bother you that much?"

"Of course it does!" Molly furrowed her brow, desperately trying not to raise her voice at Remy, "I know to you I'm...I'm nothing, but to me, you're very important. I know you like to flirt and I can't stop you, but just remember that you _are_ important to me."

"Alright, but don't expect me to change just because you're here, even if you consider me important," Remy reached out and ruffled her hair playfully again.

They decided to go out to dinner, with Molly leaving her worries to drown in a big plate of food.

* * *

When the two of them got back to the hotel, Molly looked around feeling something was missing.  
She suddenly realized had nothing to sleep in.

"Uh, here," Remy handed her a couple folded items of clothing from his bag, sensing her realization.

"Th-thank you," Molly said shyly. She went into the huge bathroom to change. (Was that a Jacuzzi tub _and_ a large shower? Wow!) Molly felt a bit uncomfortable and flustered. Tonight she was aware of Remy and her sharing a room together, but she was also wearing Remy's clothes, which she'd never had to do before. It didn't feel quite right to her, seeing how she felt about him, but Molly also had to keep reminding herself that this place and Remy weren't real. All fake, a big, elaborate, illusion, no matter how much it felt real. Molly shook herself from her thoughts. She was tired and wanted to sleep. She changed into Remy's shirt and pajama bottoms, going back out and climbing into the bed.

Remy was already changed clothes, laying on the floor in only pants.  
"So honey," Remy said with a smirk, "What do you and I do for fun in this alternate reality?"

The smirk said it all to Molly. Remy's suggestion didn't mean walks in the park and going to the movies.

"We've never done it Remy," Molly leaned over to look him in the face with an exasperated sigh.

"You _do_ know me very well, don't you," Remy said, looking at Molly, "Why not then?"

"We just...well...I'm waiting to get married. You understood after we talked about it."

"Why wait?" Remy lay there continuing to have the most aggravating look of "I'm-smooth" on his face.

"I'm _not_ having this conversation with you," Molly quickly turned over, pulling the blankets tight around her so that she looked almost cocooned with just her head sticking out.

"Come on, I'm serious. Why wait?" Remy continued to be annoying, "I'm sure you could make a guy really happy with a body like that."

Remy barely had time to take his next breath because a very angry, seething tiger was standing over him. Molly's face was so close to his, her now animal eyes could make out every eyelash on his face. She morphed halfway, unable to help the growl escaping her throat. "Don't you _ever_ say anything like that again! I'm nobody's slut, got it?"

Molly got back onto the bed in one swift leap, changing back and getting under the covers again.  
She didn't know if Remy tried to say anything else, because she fell asleep too quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

* * *

It took an astonishingly short amount of time to hack the local high schools computer and find Rogue's home address. They found Rogue's house and agreed that luring her out seemed like the best plan. It had worked with Remy so why not try it again? They went to the backyard after quickly jumping the fence, which only contained grass and a picnic table. Molly turned into a cute little Yorkshire terrier and cried at Rogue's bedroom window at the back of the house. Rogue opened the window and looked down. Molly tried doing her best "cute dog" impression, sitting up and purposely falling over, barking a little. "Alright, hang on," Rogue sighed a little, staring at Molly. A few minutes later, Rogue came out to the backyard with a plate of scraps. Molly carefully change back, but Rogue started running as soon as Molly started shape-shifting.

"Don't run. Please," Molly held up her hands, "I'm, uh, different. Like you."

"Yeah, I saw," Rogues voice dripped sarcasm, "What do you want?"

"It's a long story," Molly said, "Maybe we can go somewhere and talk about it?"

"I can't leave," Rogue said, "Gotta stay around the house until my...my family gets back."

"Family. Right," Molly said. Thankfully, Molly had done her homework on Rogue. It sickened her to think that Rogue was getting used and manipulated-and she just took it.

"We can talk out here," Rogue said, "Tell me what's this all about? Who are you?"

"My name is Molly," Molly said, "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to live in a huge mansion and have lots of friends, not be some shut-in stealing things. We're friends. Right now you should be living it up in New York and you're not and I just want to change all that."

"Powers or not, you're crazy. I'm going back inside. Don't follow me," Rogue said.

"She's right," Remy appeared in front of Rogue, seemingly out of nowhere, "I don't know how, but something inside me says that Molly is right. I know none of it makes a lick of sense, but she traveled a long way to find me, and the two of us came a long way to find you. So the least you could do is consider what she's saying might be true."

"And who might you be? Prince Charming?" Rogue scoffed, putting a hand to her hip.

"Maybe," Remy smirked, taking Rogue's free hand and kissing her glove covered fingers, "Enchante, Cherie. Remy LeBeau, at your service."

Molly was about to cough, desperate to break Remy of his flirting, when Rogue drew her arm back, coming back at Remy with an unexpected fist.

"Son of a-" Remy grabbed his eye, "You hit me!" Remy looked over at Molly with his good eye, "She hit me! Was she supposed to do that?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you," Molly couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction, "You two hate each other."

"Touch me again and your eye won't be the only part of you hurting," Rogue glared at Remy.

"Uh, sorry," Molly slid up beside them, "Remy is...he's...very _flirtatious_."  
Molly felt awkward having to explain it to someone else.

"Moving on," Rogue said, "You don't want to leave me alone I see, so let's go sit down and we can talk."

They went and sat on the picnic table. Remy and Molly summarized things the best they could manage.  
"So maybe you'd like to come with us?" Remy asked.

"She's not going anywhere," A familiar voice said from behind them.

Molly suddenly felt like swearing at the unexpected sight of a disguised Mystique and Irene Adler.  
"We gotta go now," Molly said, "Not going to get another chance!"

"But-" Remy said.

"NOW!" Molly yelled. She transformed into a Gorilla and hauled Rogue through the side yard and back into the car.  
Remy ran to get into the drivers seat and then floored it down the road, the tires squealing sharply and smoke coming off them in droves.  
Molly was relieved Remy wasn't afraid of driving crazily. He would've been almost useless in this situation otherwise.

"You guys are kidnapping me!" Rogue protested, more a statement then a question.

"Sorry, no choice. You'll thank us later," Molly said. Her heart was pounding and she felt like a live wire with a ton of adrenalin inside her. They'd managed to get away from Mystique, amazing!

"Uh, what's that?" Rogue said, looking behind her out the back window.

"Ohhh. Not good," Molly turned to look.

Chasing them was something out of a nightmare. The size of a bus, dark purple with orange spikes coming out of it's back. Big, black eyes and _four_ sets of teeth in its mouth. It was as tall as a large house and probably as heavy. Things were just getting better and better, fantastic! Molly didn't want to tangle with whatever Mystique had dredged up from Hades depths, but Molly had no choice. It was a necessary evil and Molly was the only one who could take it down and live. (At least she hoped so!)

"Keep driving or don't, I'll take care of this," Molly said, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You'll what?!" Remy yelped.

Molly opened the door and rolled out onto the hot pavement, getting up as fast as she could manage. 'Please tell me I still have it,' She thought to herself before changing. In seconds, she was the familiar Spinosaurus. The only thing big enough to take down this creature and live. Mystique stopped, mid charge, and stared at Molly. Molly took the opportunity and pile-drove into her nemesis with enough force to knock down a building. Mystique's body rolled down the street a few feet, crushing cars and breaking pavement. She managed to get up. This just seemed to make the female monstrosity angrier, as she charged at Molly with full force. Molly sank her teeth into the neck of the creature, pinning it down with all her weight. Soon enough Molly could feel Mystique changing back.

When Molly saw Mystique back to normal, only then did Molly change back. Molly sat with her legs underneath her, exhaustion hitting her suddenly. Molly couldn't figure out why she was so tired all the time now. Sweat covered her face like a heavy rainstorm. Her heart was pounding in her ears.  
This was turning out to be an exciting trip, if nothing else. Molly willed herself to stand, going past Mystique and heading in the cars direction, giving the blue woman a wide berth. Remy had stopped the car in the middle of the street so that Rogue could get out. Molly stood at the driver's side door, watching the scene unfold.

"Momma...what's going on?" Rogue asked.

"They're trying to take you away from me," Mystique said, "I don't want anyone to take you away from me."

"And you tried to hurt them," Rogue countered, "I know they tried to take me away, but they seem like nice people. And if you're going to kill someone just for that, then I don't know who you are anymore. I'm leaving. We're done."

"Rogue, please. If you just let me-" Mystique begged.

"We're done. Find someone else to do your dirty work," Rogue got back into the car and slammed the door shut.

* * *

"I'm so happy you made the right choice," Molly smiled, squeezing Rogue's shoulders from the back seat in lieu of a hug.

"I'm happy too I guess, but what happens now?" Rogue said.

"We have a lot of people to look for," Remy explained, "So we're going road tripping."

"Trapped in a car with you for hours and hours? Can't wait," Rogue rolled her eyes as she pressed down the button to roll down the window.

Molly smiled happily. It was starting to all come together.

Sometime later, they stopped back at the hotel to pick up Remy and Molly's things and check out.  
Then they made a quick stop at the nearest Waller's-Mart to get a few changes of clothes for Rogue and Molly since it was going to be a long trip. Then they headed for Illinois to find Kitty Pryde.

"This isn't going to be easy," Molly said, "Kitty always said her parents were super protective of her, so I think we're going to have to, um, not try to kidnapp her. Take another approach."

"Piece of cake," Rogue said, "I've got an idea."

They rang the door belle. "Hi there," Molly smiled when Kitty herself answered, "We're looking for volunteers to model for a fashion show at the mall. We saw you earlier and thought you'd be a good candidate. Would you like to sign up? It's free. We can tell you about all the perks you get if you do."

"Sure, I guess," Kitty answered, "Why don't you come inside?"

"Uh, we can't," Rogue said, "Policy. The light is so much better outside!"

Kitty looked at them like they were nuts. That was to be expected because they were trying too hard.  
"Oh screw it," Molly threw her hands up, frustrated. "Listen, there's important stuff going down. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Let's talk out here," Kitty said, "  
My parents are home and I get the feeling they wouldn't want to hear whatever it is you're going to say."

They summarized why they were there for Kitty and why it was imperative that she come with them. Molly showed Kitty what she could turn into as proof, but Kitty didn't seem convinced.

"You expect me to go off with you when I just met you? You're nuts!" Kitty started back for the house.

"The kids at school are hassling you and won't leave you alone. There's this guy named Lance on your back, right? You don't know what to do and we're making it worse," Molly said in a gentle voice.

"How did you know all that?" Kitty turned around.

"Because you told me. We tell each other everything and sometimes you really get on my nerves with telling everyone everything that happens to me, but I still love you like friends do," Molly said, "We'll give you a couple days to think about it and...and I promise that we'll get you back to your parents when it's over with."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Kitty said.

Rogue and Molly went back to the car where Remy was waiting.

"Not coming with us?" Remy asked as he started the car.

"Not right away," Rogue said, "We're going to give her a couple days to think it over."

"Okay then," Remy started the car drove off.

* * *

They found another hotel and this time there was more than one room available, to Molly's relief. They managed to all get separate rooms, thanks to Remy's generous-if ill-gotten-funds. They stood in the small cream and white painted lobby, (which had seen better days, with it's cracked tile floors and three broken lights in the ceiling), a few moments, talking.

"We'll get settled in and catch some lunch if you two want?" Remy said.

"Okay," Rogue said.

"Yeah, sounds good," Molly said, "Uh, Rogue? You...are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Rogue smirked a little, "This is fun compared to what I usually have to do."

"Well if you want to talk, I'm here. We're really good people, honest," Molly smiled.

"If you weren't, I wouldn't have gone with you," Rogue gave Molly a real smile this time.

Molly went to her room and put her stuff on a table, then sat on the bed. The room wasn't lavish, just your ordinary hotel room. Blue carpet, one full size bed with a maroon color bedspread, a white bedside table and a short lamp on top of it. There was a brown dresser and a TV, with a tiny bathroom. At least it smelled and looked clean. There was a knock on the door. She opened it carefully, only to see Remy standing outside in the cream colored, plain hallway.

"Uh, hi," Molly said, opening the door all the way.

"Hey. Um, can I come in?" Remy said.

"Sure," Molly let him in.

"I want to apologize for what I said the other night. I was out of line," Remy said.

"You were," Molly said, "I'm glad you came to say you're sorry. It's very, uh, good of you."

"You're nice. I'm not sure why I said that," Remy said, "You really don't seem like that kind of girl anyway."

"That's because I'm not," Molly said.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments.

"Uh, I'd better go. I'll wait for you out in the lobby when you're ready," Remy said.

"Thanks Remy," Molly said, meeting him at the door, "You're not such a jerk after all."

"Mm-hmm," Remy scrunched his eyebrows, looking confused.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

* * *

The next couple of days were boring and nothing of note happened, but it gave everyone a chance to breath. Molly was relieved and she could tell the others were. Surely, Rogue had to be a little stressed out from everything. They'd uprooted her from everything she knew-school, Mystique, friends-her whole life! Molly felt a ton of guilt for it, but it couldn't be helped. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Without Rogue, there would be a big hole in the team that no one else could fill. Rogue was their support. Their sarcastic, southern, don't-start-nothing-and-there-won't-be-nothing, boot wearing, sassy All-in-One. Like a mutant Swiss army knife with attitude. Except, Molly realized, it was about more than Rogue's powers. Rogue was intimidation incarnate, but she was also the one that never said die when the chips were down. And, really, Molly always loved her for it.

One late morning, they felt enough time had passed, so they went back to Kitty's house. Kitty answered, smiling. "I'm glad you guys came back."

"You are?" Molly questioned.

"I gave it a lot of thought and I want to come with you. My parents left because they won this cruise for two. They'll be gone for two weeks, so I'm free!" Kitty looked excited.

"Two weeks?" Molly questioned. She stepped out onto the lawn.

"Petite? Hey, what's going on?" Remy wondered, coming around to face Molly.

"It's too convenient," Molly said, "It doesn't feel right."

Remy leaned down closer to Molly, "Hey, don't worry. Even if someone else is pulling the strings, at least we're together."

Molly looked up into Remy's eyes, her heart thundering at the sight of him so close. "Y-yes," Molly said, then coughing, "Right. You're right. We've got Kitty, that's all that matters now."

"I'm all packed and ready to go," Kitty held up a suitcase.

"What made you change your mind anyway?" Rogue asked.

"Something was just telling me that it's the right thing to do," Kitty said, "I know I have these powers for a reason. If you're like me, then you're all I have and we need to stick together."

"Not very bright, is she?" Remy whispered to Molly after Kitty got in the car and they loaded up her things into the trunk.

"Well you're here, so you must not be very bright either," Molly shot back, "Besides, she's your friend too, so mind what you say about her."

Molly left Remy standing there speechless.

* * *

The four of them went to the closest library, trying to plan out their next move.

"We should probably grab Jean, then head off to Germany to find Kurt," Molly said, "We can get Scott last, because, hey, it's not going to be easy trying to just get to Missouri either."

"Like it's going to be so easy getting into Germany," Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Actually, come to think of it, it's going to be cake getting anywhere with Jean on our team," Molly suddenly realized.

"Why's that?" Remy said.

"Jean is a telepath. She can get inside people's heads," Molly explained, "So lets take the car and get going."

"Okay, but maybe we can go find something to eat first? I'm hungry," Rogue said.

"I didn't realize it was already after one," Molly said, looking at a nearby clock.

They went to a restaurant that was red inside and out, with a distinct Hawaiian theme, (Flowers and palm trees everywhere. Coconuts decorating the tables and greeter's stand, with the waitresses mismatched in grass skirts over white pants and white tops. So corny.) They settled into a red and orange booth, but were not uncomfortably squeezed in. The table had a yellow (not lit) candle, the obligatory decorative coconut, and a complimentary bowl of dried coconut to go with the theme. Remy was between Molly and Kitty with Rogue on Kitty's other side. "Maybe we should have gone with a table," Remy said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Aw what?" Molly smirked, ribbing him, "You of all people don't want to sit between two girls? No smart remark?"

"I just don't want to make any of you feel uncomfortable," Remy said.

"I don't feel uncomfortable," Molly continued to smirk, "Not in the least." Molly could see Remy realizing that she was trying to flirt with him. Hopefully he'd take the bait. Just for a bit, it would be nice.

"So you like sweet things Molly?" Remy asked smoothly, "They've got tasty looking desserts."

"I like lots of things..." Molly purred.

"Like kissing?" Remy looked at her flirtatiously.

"Yes," Molly smirked flirtatiously.

"I'd like to get through lunch and not lose it, so could you two knock it off?" Rogue said in her usual straight-forward manner.

"Uh, sorry," Molly said, putting the menu up and diving into it. It was so easy to forget that her friends weren't her friends here and that she and Remy weren't a couple. Molly was always jolted back to the realization when things like that happened or when Remy flirted with other girls. He didn't do it to be mean or anything, it was just his personality. It had also been a very long time since Molly had to be faced with the realization that, hey, she wasn't Remy's one and only and she didn't mean much to him at all. Molly just had to keep reminding herself that the real Remy was out there somewhere, planning to rescue her bravely, like a thousand times before. In reality, Remy loved her deeply and that was what mattered.

"My name is Merida, what can I start you off with?" A brunette, mulatto skinned waitress appeared.

The girls went around placing their drink orders, then it came time for Remy's turn.  
"I'd like the Polynesian dancer. I have to say, you're a pretty cute waitress," Remy winked.

The waitress in turn looked at the ground, seemingly flushed.  
"ThankyouI'llbebackwithyourdrinksmomentarily," She said hurriedly, scuttling off back to the kitchen.

"You really scared her," Kitty marveled.

"Oh...she reminds me of me," Molly said absently.

"You're not like that at all," Rogue said, "What are you talking about?"

"I used to be," Molly said, not delving into it because she didn't want to confuse or upset them with more talk of an alternate universe.

Molly was confused herself. Everything felt, smelled, and sounded real down to the smallest detail. Maybe Molly was wrong. Perhaps everything was right and this was reality, but that didn't account for her memories. Those were the only things keeping her going, keeping her tied to sanity itself. After so much had happened, it was glaringly obvious the Splicers were much, _much_ more powerful than the X-Men first realized. They needed to be stopped, but with technology and tricks like this on the bad guys side, it was going to be like an ant facing a dinosaur in comparison. A near impossible task, but that was the X-Men's specialty.

"Okay, what's the matter?" Remy looked at Molly.

"What?" Molly wondered.

"You feel confused and scared. What's wrong?" It was the first time Remy had genuine worry about her in his eyes.

"Um...I don't feel like talking about it. I-I'm sorry," Molly said.

"As you wish, but, uh, you know, I'll, like, listen if you want to talk about, uh, anything," Remy seemed to stumble over his words uncharacteristically. So unlike him.

"Uh, thanks," Molly said with a slight smile.

"So have any of you figured out how were getting to Germany yet?" Kitty asked, then eating some dried coconut.

"I came up with something, but it's not going to be easy," Molly said, "I'll tell you about it later. Not here."

"Sounds sneaky," Rogue smiled, unfolding her napkin and putting it in her lap, "I like sneaky."

"I like sneaky too. We have that in common Cherie," Remy smiled at her.

"Don't make me hit you again," Rogue glared at him from the other side of Molly.

"Maybe this time I'll dodge it," Remy said as he held his chin, elbow propped up and looking over Molly.

"Doubt that," Rogue rolled her eyes.  
"Come on, ange," Remy purred, "You can't resist my charms that easily."

"I'm not your 'ange', and if you want, I'd be glad to take this outside," Rogue said.

Molly let out a loud sigh, "Okay, enough of this. If you two can't behave, I'll have to do something drastic."

"Like what?" Remy grinned.

"Turn into a gorilla and knock you out so you quit flirting with anything in a skirt," Molly said.

"No need to do that," Remy said, holding up his hands, "I'll tone it down if it keeps me conscious. I'm sure there are plenty of other women around that would very much enjoy my attention."

"Hey, what does everyone want for dessert?" Kitty interrupted as Rogue opened her mouth.

"Chocolate something sounds good," Remy said, "What about you Petite?" Remy turned his attention to Molly.

"Chocolate sounds good to me," Molly smiled. The two of them stared at each other for what seemed much longer than normal.

"Here's your orders," The waitress came back. Remy and Molly snapped out of it.

Molly sipped on her drink like nothing had happened.

* * *

"okay, so were all clear on the plan?" Molly said. She wasn't used to playing the leader role. She would've loved for Scott to be there to call the shots, but that wasn't going to happen just yet.

Everyone understood the plan. Remy, Kitty and Rogue walked into the waiting area pretending to be normal tourists. "International Airlines Flight fifteen now boarding for Germany," A female voice echoed over the loudspeaker.

The kids stood and waited. As per the plan, Molly had turned into a kangaroo. Noticeable enough, but not very dangerous looking. Molly hopped around, making herself noticeable as the public was urged to leave the area for their own safety. Molly kicked empty seats, scratched up abandoned luggage with her long claws, and knocked over a standing ad for toothpaste with her long, unruly tail. Meanwhile, while there was no one around to stop them, the rest of the kids boarded the plane. It was fun causing a little chaos without any consequences to follow it, she had to admit! Molly kicked at the windows where the planes could be seen a couple times, making dead sure people were aware of her, but weren't going to try to catch her. Before security could arrive, Molly changed back in the women's bathroom, coming out quickly to make it in to the grey-seated, economy class plane. Molly just strolled onto the plane like she owned it and calmly took a seat next to Remy.

"Do you have to sit next to me?" Remy said.

"Oh jee, I'm sorry, I thought we were in this together," Molly looked at him with a sarcastic glare.

"We are...I just...I..." Remy faltered.

"What? You want your personal space? That's new," Molly said.

"No. I just didn't know you wanted to sit next to me," Remy said.

"Well I do," Molly said, "I wouldn't want to sit next to anyone else."

"Okay," Remy said, "So Petite, you seem to know all about me, but I haven't gotten to know much about you so far."

"I guess not," Molly said, "What do you want to know?"

"The normal things. What you like to do, things like that," Remy answered.

Molly told Remy what she was like and more, starting to recount some of their adventures together. "Really? I did that?" Remy marveled at something heroic his alternate self had done.

"Yeah," Molly said, "It was really, you know, amazing."

"...You love me," Remy blurted out, which, admittedly, was very unlike him.

Molly veered back across the outer armrest a bit. "I...alternately...I love the Remy I know."

"Well it shows. The way your face lights up when you talk about him. How you're feeling," Remy said, "It's incredible."

"Not incredible. It's normal," Molly said, "So you'll have to forgive how I've been acting. When I look at you I see him, so that's why I..." Molly didn't finish the sentence.

"It is understandable," Remy said, "I find I like it more and more, really."

"Uh, that's nice?" Molly wasn't sure how to answer that.

Remy laughed a little. "So maybe you can tell me more about alternate me? We've had so little time to talk."

"There isn't much difference," Molly said, "Besides, I'd rather talk about us. Tell you about our dates and things."

"Like about how there was a specific way you liked to be touched-or kissed?" Remy held a hand to Mollys jawline.

Molly swallowed. She wanted to be touched, kissed and soothed by Remy suddenly. The lines between what was real and what wasn't were starting to blur.

Remy seemed to notice Molly's discomfort and pulled his hand away. "I liked hugging you," Molly started talking, to remind herself, "And our first kiss was all fireworks. You were always there when I needed you, when I was feeling my worst. Things confused me easily, but over time it was clear how much I loved you and how much we needed each other." Both happy and sad memories flooded Molly's head. She _knew_ what was real and what wasn't. Remy and her friends in the real world were going to keep her going in ways they couldn't imagine.

"I see," Remy said, "Well it's a four-hour flight, so we'll have plenty of time to chat. For now, I'll be in the men's room."

Molly watched him walk down the aisle, admiring him. Only problem was, she wasn't the only one. Many women were doing the same thing. They practically had their tongues hanging out of their mouths as their eyes grew wide. Molly rolled her own eyes in annoyance, focusing her attention back to things like Remy's cute butt until he reached the bathroom. When Remy had come back, the short, Indian stewardess was going down the aisle handing out snacks. "That's so sweet of you to accompany your little sister on the flight," The overly cheery woman handed them peanuts and water.

"She's not my sister," Remy smiled. Molly wasn't quite prepared for what happened next, "We're actually on our honeymoon."

Dear sweet heavens, this alternate Remy was just as annoying and sneaky as the real Remy. Molly gulped, faking a big smile. Her toes curled as Remy reached behind to rub her neck.

"Oh I'm sorry!" The woman giggled, "Well enjoy your flight." She went to the next passengers.

Molly noticed Remy wouldn't stop rubbing her neck. Worse still, she liked it. "Stop it," Molly growled.

"But Cherie, I thought this was what you wanted," Remy smirked, continuing to rub her neck.

"Not exactly, so quit it and no more making up wild stories," Molly said, veering away from his touch.

"Fine...honey," Remy couldn't resist.

* * *

The flight finally landed, but hadn't ended smoothly. Molly had to suffer through staff and passengers wishing them congratulations and Remy insisted on holding hands as they walked out the terminal and through the exit. "What is...? You have tiny hands Petite," Remy held Molly's hand a moment, held it up and looked at it, then went back to holding it again as they continued walking. Molly was too busy thinking of ways to kill Remy to answer right away.

"...So?!" Brilliant comeback, Molly.

"Never mind," Remy had the sense to let it go.

Molly finally let go when they were out in the waiting area.

"You're insufferable," Molly looked up at him.

"And you're really short," Remy remarked, "It's no good being mad at me. We're here and we have a job to do. You're running this thing, so what's next?"

Molly sighed. This was just like old times-straddling the line between wanting to kiss Remy and strangle him.

"I don't know. Kurt lived with his parents near some...German village...I can't remember the name of it, but he did talk about it a lot. He lived near someplace very German sounding," Molly said.

"Well that would make sense seeing as how we're in Germany," Rogue said as she and Kitty caught up to them.

"We'll get a map and start there," Remy suggested.

"Maybe we can catch some sleep at some point?" Kitty yawned, "We've been traveling all day."

"Okay, map and then a hotel," Remy said.

Molly was starting to feel tired suddenly. They walked out, stopping to buy a map and then hailing a taxi.

Once they got to the nearest hotel, an extravagant four stars similiar to one before, everyone suddenly felt like sleeping. Probably from the jet-lag. Molly went into her room and crashed, feeling like she could sleep for years. When she woke up, there was a knock at her door seconds later. It was a hotel worker, not much older than she was, in a red vest, white shirt and black pants, with brown hair. He had a metal cart in front of him that smelled strongly of food, with two large cloisters on top.

"Yes?" Molly said to the guy with a cart at her door.

"Room service," The young man smiled, his brown hair flopping into his eyes.

"Uh, I think you have the wrong room," Molly said, "I didn't order any room service."

"No mistake. Room four-oh-two for Mister and Misses LeBeau," the boy said.

"Ah good, the food's here," Remy seemed to appear out of thin air. He put some European bills in the boy's front pocket, "Thank you, sir. Buy yourself something nice." Remy then wheeled the cart into the room. Molly stood there seething as the boy walked off. She slowly shut the door after a few moments.

"What is all this?!" Molly tried not to raise her voice as Remy sat on the bed, eating. He swallowed.

"I try to do something nice for you and you get all angry. That's impolite Cherie," He said charmingly with that familiar smirk.

"...Thank you, but I told you to knock it off with the honeymoon act," Molly said, "It's...it's silly."

"Not that silly," Remy said, "We got half off the room and a discount on room service because it's off-season. While you were in the bathroom I checked us in separately from Kitty and Rogue and gave them the money to get their own rooms."

"So where did you sleep this whole time?" Molly asked.

"I didn't. I went out and converted dollars to Euros and got a bunch of information on all the villages around here so we can find this Kurt guy. I have more energy than you all," Remy handed Molly a handful of travel brochures.

"Well, uh, thank you. That was very, um, smart of you," Molly said.

"Don't mention it. Eat something. I'm sure you're hungry by now," Remy said.

"But what about-" Molly said.

"Kitty and Rogue are taken care of," Remy said, "I don't leave anyone hanging."

Molly ate gratefully. She was hungry again, frighteningly so.

"Oh!" Molly stopped mid-meal, holding up a travel brochure like it was the golden ticket, "Winzledorf! This is it. Great!"

"Now we just have to get there," Remy said, stretching his arms over his head, seeming tired.

"We can catch a taxi," Molly said.

"Yeah," Remy said, "We'll have to do it first thing tomorrow. It's getting late."

Molly looked at the clock. It was already five. Molly had put sleeping before everything else, she felt deflated. "You can have the bed tonight, I'll sleep on the floor," Molly yawned, still not quite awake.

"That's alright, ange," Remy said, "I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"No really," Molly insisted, "You took the floor last time. I'll be fine."

"Whatever you want," Remy said, "So, um, what kind of things that we do at this school anyway? Like training?"

"Training..." Molly trailed, "Nothing really special. We try to balance or real lives with our mutant lives. We just work our butts off trying to save the world."

"Except people don't like us," Remy said.

"That's putting it lightly," Molly scoffed.

"Hey, having eyes like these, people automatically don't like me," Remy said, "So I get it."

They shared a look for a moment. Molly felt more connected with Remy than she had since arriving. It made her more than happy. It made her rife with joy, love, and many other feelings. She reached out and ran her fingers through Remy's soft hair. She swore it was softer then she remembered it.

"Un homme pouvait vraiment tomber en amour avec vous," Remy murmured.

Molly snuggled against Remy and he put his arm around her not so reluctantly. They hadn't had this much privacy since they'd met just days ago.

There was a knock at the door and Molly jumped a mile, scrambling clumsily away from the bed and running back into the lamp on the nightstand. It quickly fell over and She turned and caught it in time, while Remy got the door. Kitty entered the room with Rogue.

"So what's the game plan?" Rogue sat on the bed, arms crossed.

Molly was blank. She just looked at Remy.

"We're going to Winzledorf first thing in the morning," Remy explained.

"I can't believe you guys are sharing a room together," Kitty rolled her eyes as she flopped into a nearby chair, "It's so PG-thirteen."

"For your information I'll be sleeping on the floor," Molly glared, "So we're not, like, fooling around in here."

"Anyway," Remy said, "I could use some sleep now, so maybe you girls could go do something."

"Shopping! Got it!" Molly smirked with a thumbs up.

* * *

Un homme pouvait vraiment tomber en amour avec vous= A man could really fall in love with you.

AN: That's not an alcoholic drink Remy ordered, even though it might sound like it. It's a reference to one of my fave anime, 'Lovely Complex', which was ordered in the show.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time. I don't own National Geographic or Little House on the Prairie.

AN: ((=translated from German.

* * *

The next day the four of them found themselves in front of a small, plain white house in the middle of nowhere next to a river. Well, the middle of nowhere just outside of Winzledorf. There were mountains surrounding the area and a huge forest everywhere you looked. It looked like a National Geographic picture, gorgeous and very European. However, the severe lack of situation was felt very heavily in the group. Molly had to wonder if Kurt's family had to pull the Little House on the Prairie card, sewing their own clothes and churning their own butter. Was there even a wi-fi connection out here?

"This is it?" Rogue's face fell, mouth agape.

"I told you," Molly said, "Kurt is blue and furry with a _tail_. He's not going to blend in, so he lives out here with his parents." This was going to be an even harder sell then when they got Kitty. Molly knew that Kurt's parents definitely wouldn't get whisked away on vacation.

Kitty knocked. Everyone was thankful that Kitty, being a genius, had learned German in her spare time.

Kurt's mother answered. "((Hello?))" She smiled, but warily.

"((Hello))," Kitty smiled, "((May we talk outside a moment?))"

Kurt's mother came outside. Kitty summarized who they were, then she went into why they were there.  
"((We have abilities too,))" Kitty demonstrated by walking through Molly, "((Like your son.))"

Kurt's mother was agape for a moment, then she gladly invited them inside.  
"((Amazing! He will be so happy to meet you! Come in, come in!))"

They were rushed inside.  
"((Sit down. I'll fetch Kurti,))" His mother said.

Molly and the others were relieved to get a warm welcome for once. This time there was no hiding or running. They could be honest. Molly had to smirk though. Kurti? Was that for real? She looked around the room. The house wasn't huge, it was actually pretty small. There was a fireplace and they sat on what looked like hand carved wooden furniture adorned with some very comfortable cushions. To the right was a small kitchen with the usual amenities, and between the kitchen and the living room, there was a staircase. There were windows at the back and around the living room with flower pattern curtains. Upstairs was all wood, an addition. Shiny yellow logs made up the railing and there were two bedrooms and most likely one bathroom. All in all, it was cute house and perfect for hiding a fuzzy elf from people in the long term.

Upstairs Kurt's mom was saying stuff that Molly couldn't understand, forcing Kurt out of his room and downstairs.

When Kurt finally made it downstairs, Molly watched her friends share the same look of surprise. She'd tried to prepare them, but seeing Kurt in the flesh was always a shock to anyone.

Molly couldn't sit still. She ran over and hugged Kurt for as hard and as long as she could. "I missed you," Molly's voice was barely above a whisper as tears sprung to her eyes. Kurt was so pure and good. She had missed him so much more than she realized.

"Vas? Mama warum ist das M dchen umarmt mich?-Und so schwer!" Kurt said.

Aw crap, Molly realized-Kurt-in this reality-didn't speak a lick of English.

"Uh, sorry! Sorry," Molly let go and sat back down, "Kitty, tell him we're like him and that I'll demonstrate."

"Wir sind wie Sie. Mein Freund will dir zeigen," Kitty said to Kurt.

Molly turned into a cat, jumping on the arm of a chair and then down again. She changed back.  
"Vunderbar!-" Kurt said, then started talking a mile a minute in German.

"I think he's happy we came," Remy smiled.

The three of them watched Kurt and Kitty talk for a while, then they had to get down to the gritty stuff.  
"We didn't just come here to meet Kurt," Molly said as Kitty translated, "We need him to come with us. It's complicated,  
but we're all supposed to be together. If we're not...then we've come for nothing. We'll bring him back safe!"

They'd said their piece, but judging from the amount of "nein's" Kurt's mom was saying, it was definitely not going to happen.

"Mama..." Kurt took his mother aside. They came back a few moments later.

Kurt's mom said a lot in German, then Kitty translated. "She said Kurt can stay here and we can come back for him."

Molly grit her teeth. "No. Too hard. It took a lot to get here, I don't know if we could do it a second time."

"Tell her we only have two more people to get and then we'll bring Kurt back," Remy said.

Kitty translated again. "She asked where. I told her in America."

Kurt's mother just stood there and said something else.

"She has to talk it over with her husband," Kitty said, "And she wants us to go spend time with Kurt."

They went outside. The pleasant weather was inviting. Unlike the real world, it wasn't winter, more like spring. The sun warmed them all, feeling good and refreshing as they walked down a dirt path away from the house, into the forest a bit.  
"I wish we could understand each other," Molly walked beside Kurt as everyone fell behind.

Kurt said something in German.

"What did he say?" Molly turned her head back to Kitty.

"He wants to know how you seem to know him," Kitty said, "You're kind of, um, weirding him out."

"Uh, just tell him it's a long story," Molly smiled, "And that I didn't mean to weird him out."

"Cherie," Remy caught Molly's hand, causing her heart to skip a beat-as corny as that sounded-gently pulling her away from everyone, "What are we going to do if we can't get Kurt out of here?"

"I don't know. It was fairly easy to get here, but I'm afraid if we tried it again, it wouldn't work out so smoothly," Molly said, running a hand back through her hair. There had to be a wrench in the works sometime, "I have to think about it.-We have to think about it."

"Okay, okay," Remy said calmly, "Don't stress. We'll think of something."

They caught up to the others. "Gotta talk with you guys," Remy said, "We need a plan B in case we can't get our guy out of here."

"Short of begging, I don't see what we can do," Rogue said.

"We might just have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Kitty said, "There's no sense in worrying about it too much right now."

"Kitty's right," Molly agreed, "The important thing is to earn their trust now."

They came to a stop where the dirt path ended. Remy leaned against a tree while everyone else took a rest sitting on the ground, near small boulders and patches of grass and dead leaves. "It's really beautiful out here," Molly commented, looking around. She watched Kurt asked what she'd said and Kitty conversed with him a moment.

"Kurt said thank you and he's happy you enjoy it," Kitty said.

"Oh, um, good," Molly said, already feeling awkward over the language barrier that usually wasn't there.

There was a long silence.

Kurt said something.

"He's asking us to tell him about ourselves," Kitty explained.

Remy rolled his eyes, making a rude noise. "We traveled hundreds of miles and he wants us to tell him about ourselves."

Molly hopped up and playfully punched Remy in the arm.  
"Like that hurt," Remy smirked.

"Well just be nice, okay? It's natural he wants to get to know us. He's been alone all this time, so...so don't be such a jerk about it," Molly looked up at Remy with pleading eyes.

"Fine," Remy sighed, "I'm from Louisiana. I can make things explode. I like card games."

Kitty translated again and Kurt said something.

"He wants to see your powers," Kitty said.

Remy took a card from his trench coat and made a small, quiet explosion, probably not wanting to startle Kurt's parents with the noise, since they were the only people around.

One by one, the kids introduced themselves a little to Kurt.

"He says...He says he hopes we can all be good friends. He's glad to have finally met us," Kitty looked teary. Kurt reached out and hugged her.

"We're glad too," Molly said, feeling tears run down her cheeks. Remy actually wiped them away.

"Don't be getting all sentimental on me now, ma Petite," Remy said in a hushed voice.

"Can't help it," Molly said, "This was all I wanted since this happened."

"I know," Remy smiled.

* * *

A few long hours later, the gang was let back inside the house to talk with Kurt's parents. They agreed to let him go, but on the condition that Kurt call them every day, twice a day. "He will. We'll return him safely very soon," Molly said, feeling like her heart was filled with the greatest joy.

They went back to the hotel, weighing the options of staying the rest of the day and leaving that night.

"We could," Kitty said, "It was a long trip and it's only one day for rest."

"It wouldn't be fair to Kurt's parents. The longer we stay, the longer he's away from them once we do get going," Rogue pointed out.  
Molly thought this was a very kind observation for Rogue to make, especially since she'd left out that Rogue and Kurt were related by adoption.

"Okay, everyone go pack then. We'll meet you in the lobby," Remy said.

Within the hour, the kids left to find Jean in Connecticut. It proved much simpler, as Jean was open to talking and, as a bonus, could tell that they were telling the truth. Within a few hours, she was riding with them as they entered the next state over to find a hotel to stay for the night.

"You didn't tell me Jean would be such a knock-out, Petite," Remy said as he drove with Molly in the front, while everyone else was squeezed into the backseat.

Molly felt a flare of jealousy again. Besides, what had happened to him calling her 'Cherie'?

"Well Jean and you aren't meant to be together," Molly smirked, satisfied, "Jean already has someone, but they haven't met just yet."

"Ah, right. Figures," Remy said, "Do you ever think maybe you're remembering wrong? Maybe it's not you and me that were together, but me and Jean?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "No, but I'll let you hold on to that little fantasy, Remy."

* * *

The kids woke up the next morning and went to the nearest restaurant for breakfast.  
They ate outside and dressed Kurt in a disguise, making sure to stay away from other people.

"Why'd I think seven in the morning was a good idea?" Molly yawned. The past few days of not being on The Institute's rigorous schedule was catching up with her.

"The earlier we get on the road, the sooner we'll find, uh, Scott," Remy said.

"Yeah," Molly said.

Kurt said something in German.

"He's asking what Scott is like," Kitty translated.

"Ridgid, demanding, and like a general," Molly said.

"starren, anspruchsvolle, und wie ein General,"Kitty said.

"Er klingt wie ein lustiger Kerl," Kurt said in a tone that was definitely sarcasm.

"He said he sounds like a fun guy," Kitty giggled.

"He's very nice though. Dependable. He's fun...deep down," Molly explained.

"Can't wait to meet him," Jean said, taking a bite of her eggs.

About eight men dressed in head-to-toe black, like Splicer's soldiers, burst into the restaurant holding laser guns. They were ready to attack hardcore and weren't going to play nice, that was certain. Molly's adrenalin went up. This was unexpected, but not entirely surprising. Things had been too calm. The few people inside ran for the exit while the kids quickly stood.

"They want us," Molly said, "You guys get out of here! I'll hold them off. I know how to fight."

"We're not leaving," Remy took some cards out of his jeans pocket, "We're a team."

The men rushed at them without hesitation and Molly took on her familiar, strong tiger form. She only had seconds to revel in its power, then she rushed at one of the men, knocking him onto the floor with all her weight, so hard that Molly heard bones crack. He wasn't going get up afterwards, not for a while. Molly took on two more fearless men, pulling away ones gun and grabbing the others leg, swinging him into a table and chairs so that he skidded into the nearby counter. Meanwhile, everyone was taking on the remaining men like pros. Kitty phased through a couple of guns, short-circuiting them, then phased the men's clothes into the floor, leaving them immobile. Rogue had quickly rendered three men either injured or unconscious, even when she was unable to touch their skin. Jean harmlessly put a couple of them to sleep. Remy's explosions had knocked two men roughly against the far wall. Molly pounced on a man trying to shoot Remy, breaking his helmet with her teeth. Molly whacked at his head with a frying pan sized paw, attempting to knock him unconscious. Kurt teleported the last man outside, then came back.

As soon as all the men were knocked out, the kids stood there for a few seconds. Molly could feel that spark in the air of pure energy after a fight. Everyone had it. That feeling of success and not failure, that feeling they did something good, useful. They'd come off triumphant it was just something that made the heart burn. Sometimes the resolve of the human condition to fight against all odds was indomitable. A fire that couldn't be put out.

...Or they were just happy to kick bad guy butt and win.

"That wasn't easy..." Rogue said.

"But it felt satisfying," Remy said.

"It felt right," Kitty said, "Like this was what we should've been doing all along."

Molly changed back.  
"That's because it is. Now, let's go find Scott."

* * *

AN: The cute nickname of "Kurti" is actually from After the GoodByes by Rowena Zahnrei, not my head. (It's in my favorites. Go read it sometime.) All credit goes to them! (Also, very perfect. Could see his parents doing that, even if we only saw them twice in the whole series and they had no real personalities or lines. Ugh, sad to say for us fans.)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time. The states that they're from were researched on the site X-Men:Beyond Evolution. Credit to them for finding out this very important info!

* * *

Molly woke up in the car. She'd fallen asleep. Everyone except Remy had, since he was driving. It was almost noon. "Getting hungry?" Remy asked quietly.

"Not yet," Molly said.

"I am. I'm gonna stop up here and we can all get something and take a break," Remy said. He pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant and got out. Everyone else slowly woke up, stretching and yawning, looking haggard. Sleeping in a car wasn't ideal.

"Where are we?" Kitty stretched her arms upwards, eyes baggy.

"Burger Bomb," Molly said, "Remy's hungry and we've been riding a while. We all need a break."

They got out and went inside, ordering and sitting down to eat again. Everyone was pretty hungry after the long drive.

"You don't think we're going to get attacked again, do you?" Kitty looked around nervously.

"Who knows," Jean said, "We'll be ready for them, no matter what happens." She gave Kitty a small hug.

Molly smiled. They were finally starting to act like friends again.

* * *

It took a few days, but eventually they reached Scott in Missouri. They reached the state line, with a couple toll booths along the road.

"Okay, fearless leader, how should we proceed?" Remy looked to Molly as they parked the car on the side of the road, hidden under the trees.

"Kurt said he's having a problem teleporting more than one person at a time, so I figure he and Rogue can get over the state line into the rest of the forest. The rest of us can..." Molly went over the rest of the plan.

That was how the rest of them ended up out of the car near the tollbooths with Remy exploding a tree. Cars came to a screeching halt while people in the tollbooths urged everyone to stay calm, more than half of them running to the commotion. With the distraction going on, everyone made it over the line and to the others.

"I'll be sorry to see the car go," Remy sighed, starting to walk through the forest.

"Yeah," Molly said, "I'm sorry we couldn't put it into the plan."

"Well, we made it through safe. That's the important part," Remy's hand brushed against hers. Molly reached out and held it, then let go of it.

Remy reached out and held it again.

They walked, catching a taxi when they reached town. They headed to the library to look up whatever information they could find on Scott. They found his picture and some information on a college website.

"He goes to college around here? That's convenient," Remy said.

"Yeah," Molly said, "Well, better get going. Times a'wasting."

They piled into another taxi and made it to Scott's college. It was a huge university, with red brick dorms on the right and left side. There were cobblestone walkways everywhere and very little grass. The library and combined Dean's office took up the majority of the space between them, being a massive four-hundred square foot building. Trees dotted the area and college kids milled about talking, flirting, skate boarding, making-out, and studying. Your typical American college scene.

"We can split up, but everyone has to be careful," Molly said.

"I don't think we have to do that," Rogue pointed, "He's right over there."

Scott was standing in front of a fountain, reading some book. He had on his navy blue backpack, blending right in with the other kids, looking like a studious young man. The amazingly gifted among the ordinary, looking totally normal indeed.

"Okay. Jean, me and Remy go. No reason to crowd him," Molly said.

The three of them carefully approached Scott.

"Hello," Jean smiled.

"Uh, hi. I'm Scott," Scott smiled, reaching out and gently shaking her hand, "Are you guys new here? Can I show you around?" (Molly had to admit, she smiled at Scott's reaction. He and Jean were like peanut butter and jelly-just made for each other.)

"Sorry, no. We came here for a different reason," Jean said, than summarizing who they were and why they were there.

"I don't know if I can trust you," Scott was rightfully suspicious, raising an eyebrow with his mouth in a slight frown.

"Hey," Molly realized something, "Where did you get those sunglasses?"

"They just came to me in the mail. After I got my...never mind,"

"After you got your powers," Molly finished.

"We can prove it to you," Remy said, taking a card out of his pocket and charging it, "See?"

Scott just looked at the charged card and silently raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Molly looked around. The quad was now empty.  
"Okay, not impressed? Try this out."

Molly turned into a kangaroo. She was controlling it slowly enough so that Scott couldn't say it was a trick. Fur sprouted all over as Molly's mouth and tail grew out, with her legs and arms getting significantly more powerful. The last thing to appear was a pouch. She then reversed it.

Scott sat down on the stone encased fountain behind him as his mouth hung open.  
"Okay, okay! So maybe you guys are telling the truth!" Scott said.

Molly noticed that the other students around them had all disappeared. They seemed completely alone. How strange.  
How very...suspicious.

"'Maybe', he says," Remy grumbled under his breath, then to Scott he said, "Are you coming with us or not?"

"I-" Scott began to answer, then the same type of men from before scaled down the buildings on thick, long black ropes to where everyone was on the ground. There was at least twenty of them! The men held up their laser guns, aimed and at the ready. Molly readied her body and the others did the same. The team was surrounded with no way out!

"Who are they?!" Scott demanded.

"Bad guys," Jean said.

Molly braced herself, now intent on changing into a more threatening animal than a kangaroo.

"ZZAPP!"

Molly felt a hole burned through her insides. Unfortunately, it was a familiar sensation for her. Like someone had dripped hot lava on her stomach and it had made a gaping hole, extremely scorching hot and miserably painful. She could actually feel the breeze blowing through her insides, it was sickening to even consider. Molly's body shook noticeably as Remy ran over to her. Molly's knees buckled and she fell to the ground with Remy's strong, firm arms around her upper body. He propped her up on to his knees, trying his best to hold onto her-to keep her alive-but Molly knew it wasn't of any use.

"Molly, ange, come on," Remy sounded hoarse, "Molly, don't...please don't..."

"Didn't think I...was...going to..." Molly couldn't say it. She was trying to morph to reverse the injuries, but something was wrong.

"You're not! I won't let it happen!" Remy said, his eyes shone deep with worry and concern.

"It's...too late..." Molly insisted.

The last thing Molly felt was Remy's warm, passionate lips before everything faded to white light.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

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REMY:

The X-Men were all around the Splicer's labs, making sure no one got out. Remy and what was remaining of the X-Men were in a completely steel hallway. They'd found out where the students were being held and were going to rescue them, no matter what happened. In front of them, there was a large set of steel doors, probably some sort of laboratory. Remy exploded the doors in front of him and they flew across the room, clanging loudly against a far wall. This was definitely where the students were being held, but nothing could prepare Remy for what he was about to see.

Molly, Bobby, Jamie, Rogue and Heather were all hanging in mid-air, suspended from black body harnesses, with blue, opaque visor helmets over their eyes with some kind of sound blockers attached to that over their ears. Their arms were hanging at their sides, so they looked reminiscent of pod people, in Remy's mind. Electrodes and wires were all over their arms, chests and legs, with their fingers covered in white sensory caps with wires running down to the floor and to the wall behind them. Directly behind them there were more wires and contraptions, like blood pressure monitors going up and down, a wall of panels lit up with tiny lights and IV bags running to the wires taped to their arms, ending in tiny needles. The backs of their legs were held still with metal braces that were bolted to the floor. They were dressed in scant light blue tops and bottoms, which seemed Ludacris, seeing as how the Splicers had treated their friends as nothing more than sub-human.

"Everyone get them unhooked, but do it carefully! We don't want to send them into shock. They've been unconscious for a very long time," Beast explained.

Remy ran over to Molly, his heavy boots echoing in the stark metal room, quickly pulling off his trench coat and dumping it on the floor, then pulling the electrodes and wires off of Molly as carefully as he could, trying not to rip them all off of her at once in a flurry of hysterical worry and passionate emotion. He pulled the wires, needles and sensors off her. After several excruciating minutes, Molly was free and Remy pulled her into his arms, picking up his coat and wrapping her up in it.

"What did they...what did they do to you?" Remy could barely get the words out, touching her face.

Molly, as were the others, was unconscious for several hours even after they got home. When she did wake up, Remy was by her side, smothering her in hugs and kisses. Internally, he vowed to never let this happen to her again. Not ever. And if it did, every single person in that company was going to regret being born, he would personally make sure of it. Remy wasn't afraid of getting in trouble or going to prison or whatever. He was afraid-as he'd always been since the moment he'd saved her life for the first time-of losing Molly. Maybe it was corny and stupid, but the all the love songs were right. Without her, he couldn't sing. Couldn't breathe. She was half of him and he was half of her. Remy didn't ever want to lose her. Remy wanted...

"Mmgh...feels nice...but I'm exhausted," Molly said weakly, interrupting his thoughts. He had to be content with holding her hands.

"Sorry, love. Not trying to smother you," Remy apologized.

"What happened?" Molly asked.

"Nothing good," Remy said, "Those monsters took you and a few of the others. It took us days just to find you, baby girl. We don't know what their game was, but when we found you...when we found you..."

"Take it slowly," Molly said.

"You were hooked up to machines with a million wires, suspended in mid-air. You looked like a living science experiment," Remy said darkly.  
His mouth felt dry.

Molly sat in the bed in silence, looking shocked.  
"When they had me, I was deep under an illusion. Everything I experienced felt real. It sounds crazy, but it was about life without The Institute. I had to find everyone and get them back together, but I didn't do it alone. I found you first and you were with me all the way."

"It sounds like they were testing you," Remy said, "Life without The Institute wouldn't be easy."

"No, but it was worse," Molly said, "Everything was different. None of us were friends and we weren't together. I really wasn't your type."

"That's annoying," Remy said with a hint of a smile, "You'll have to tell me all about it when you're rested up." He reached out and stroked her hair. He gave her a brief, reassuring kiss.

"I'm fine. Mostly. I can tell you about it now," Molly said, groggy, but awake.

"Rest, sweetheart, _please_," Remy repeated, practically begging, "We can talk about it later. Much later."

"Okay, but one question first," Molly said.

"What?" Remy sighed hard, slumping his body, annoyed that she was fighting him on something so important.

"Did you used to have a go-tee?" Molly wondered, managing a small smirk.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men:Evolution or it's characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.

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Elsewhere:

The small, wiry black haired male assistant rushed into his superior's office, papers in hand as he gasped for breath from running all the way from the floor below. "Ma'am? Ma'am, we've found him! He's in Germany, he's defenseless," The intern said, standing over the gray desk with his hands flat against it after dropping pictures and papers onto it.

Genovilia Fawn slammed a heavy, led, rectangular paperweight onto the young man's left hand. His hand turned bright red, which the woman found quite satisfying. "_Don't_ call him defenseless!" She warned, "Make that mistake again and it'll cost you worse than that."

The assistant grabbed his hand back, almost in tears as he held it. "I won't, never again!"

Genovilia looked down at the pictures of Magneto walking the streets of Germany and smiled cruelly. "All things equal, I'm glad he was found. Good work, Wilson."


End file.
